mercedes 1...emma stone copes with her fears face it bertha benz nao tamura marie wieck eveline hall...
TRANSCRIPT
Emma Stone copes with her fearsface it Bertha Benz
Nao TamuraMarie WieckEveline Hall
No. 8 1.2019
Emm
a Stone Young V
isionaries Bertha Benz
MERCEDES 1.2019No. 8
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“It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.” This quote is attributed to the French playwright Molière, a man famed for his courage and conviction. In this issue, the She’s Mercedes editorial team has taken its inspiration from Molière’s words, and is focussing on the topic of responsibility, on people who push for change for the benefit of us all.
We are especially impressed by the young visionaries we inter-viewed – teenagers and twens who, through their start-ups and asso-ciations in Indonesia, Africa and India, are striving to make the world a better place by combating climate change, promoting education for all or by cleaning up the oceans.
A look into our own past reveals that we, too, have had our fair share of courageous young women willing to take on responsibility. Bertha Benz is an excellent example. Indeed, her curiosity and creativity contributed to turning the Mercedes-Benz brand into the powerhouse it is today. Taking on responsibility is naturally also a top priority for Daimler AG, as reflected in the company’s sustainable mobility projects. And in this respect, experts Jana Krägenbring-Noor and Claudia Ansorge-Kneer will provide exciting insights into what the travel options of tomorrow will look like. We hope that you enjoy this issue and feel inspired by all the zest for action it contains.
Issue 1.2019
E DI T OR I A L
April 2019 3 Mercedes
Morocco: Berber rugs made by the women of Douar Anzal
Emma Stone
16 YoungvisionariesThese pioneers have come up with ideas for a better world
26 FaceitOscar-winning actress Emma Stone talks about how she conquered her fears
32 LearningtoflyWe visit craftswomen in Marrakesh
42 Letthemplaylonger!The case for more fun, as demonstrated by the Finns
44 InharmonyDesigner Nao Tamura looks to the environment for inspiration
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The La La Land star is taking on more serious roles.
“People with such special skills ought to be able to
provide their children with a decent education”
Andrea Bury, an entrepreneur who supports craftswomen
in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains
3 Editorial6 Imprint8 Contributors
10 MyelementHow free-climber Steph Davis holds her nerve in tough situations
12 TrendLeena Al Ghouti on Dubai street style
14 TravelThe wild beauty of remote northern Mongolia
PerfectlyconnectedYou can find She’s Mercedes on our social media channels (@shesmercedes) and the following websites: mb4.me/ShesMercedes_YouTube: mb4.me/MyChosenFamily_LinkedIn: mb4.me/shesmercedesLI
START
SALON
4 Mercedes-Benz Mercedes
The perfect car models for spring
A visit to designer Nao Tamura’s studio in New YorkThe code of life
63 Daretodream!Cars to get you in the mood for spring: the S-Class Coupé, CLS Coupé, E-Class Cabriolet and the SLC Roadster
72 NetworksFashion, stars, digital ex- perts: the highlights of the She’s Mercedes Initiative
74 RetrospectiveEveline Hall shows that beauty truly is ageless
48 Howwillwetraveltomorrow?Two experts from Daimler AG look ahead
52 Bebrave!An interview with Marie Wieck, the blockchain icon who has just joined the Daimler AG supervisory board
56 She’sLegendWhere did the young Bertha Benz get her determination?A retrospective
62 Agenda What? When? Where? These are the major events happening around the world
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The designer Nao Tamura in her apartment in New YorkFinnish author Linda Liukas calls for coding to be taught in every subject at school.
She’s Mercedes Initiative
Insights into the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid
Cultivated, popular and brightly-coloured: the SLC RoadsterPH
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CoverAn exceptional, multiple-award-winning actor: Emma Stone met She’s Mercedes in New York for an inspiring, introspective interview.
PUBLISHER
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She’s Mercedes magazine is published biannually.
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Editor-in-chiefIna Brzoska (responsible pursuant to German press law)
Art directorPeter Harasim
Managing editorsSally Johnson Stefan Vitti
Contributing editorsGwendolyn Fell Marco Arellano Gomes Jen Gontovos Jörg Heuer Helen Hoehne Hendrik Lakeberg Severin Mevissen Maya Morlock Iris Mydlach Dawn Parisi Silvia Tibursky
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CONSUMPTION DISCLOSURES
* The values specified were determined on the basis of the stipulated testing pro cedures. This applies to the ‘measured NEDC CO2 values’ pur- suant to Art. 2, No. 1 and 2 of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/ 1153. Fuel consumption was calculated on the basis of these values. Electricity consump tion was calculated on the basis of Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/ 2008. The infor mation provided does not relate to one individual vehicle and does not form part of our offer, but is intended to facilitate comparison between different vehicle types.
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She’s Mercedes is also available in the App Store and on Google Play: mbmag.me/ios mbmag.me/android
6 Mercedes-Benz Mercedes
C ON T R I BU T OR S
Evelyn, you took photos of craftswomen in a social project in Marrakesh. How did you find the experience? It was wonderful. And challenging. We had to be sensitive, as we didn’t want to make people in the Berber villages feel as if we were putting them on show. What surprised you most during your stay?First, the hospitality – we ate mounds of biscuits and drank gallons of mint tea. I was also struck by how people are basically the same no matter where they were born. Modern developments take longer to reach Berber villages. The
Writer Gwendolyn Fell searched the globe looking for teen agers and twenty- somethings with smart ideas for creating a better world.
“During the interviews, these people’s idealism was palpable,” said Fell. It also became appar- ent that global themes such as climate change are hugely important to this generation.
The New York-based journalist Severin Mevissen was inspired by Marie Wieck’s curiosity. He could sense her tireless passion for exploring new things, especially when it comes to themes such as blockchain technology or her work on the supervisory board of Daimler AG. “She simply refuses to rest on her laurels and tries to be a good role model for women in leadership positions. Very cool!” Mevissen says.
people live cut off from the rest of the world, but they are determined to educate them - selves and their children.Were there any unexpected situations? Plenty! One day the commu-nity’s teacher suddenly hooked up his laptop and turned up the music. When the women in the village heard it, they gathered in the courtyard in front of the building. The oldest started dancing in the middle while the others smiled and bopped along. It was a wonderfully joyous situation, one that you’d never expect to encounter in such a remote place. evelyndragan.com
Helen Hoehne interviewed Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone in New York. The reporter was particularly impressed by the fact that Stone, who suffered from panic attacks when she was younger, tackles the theme of depression in the Netflix series Maniac.
Our magazine took our reporters to several international destinations, including Marrakesh and New York
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The forest in New Zealand is safe again. At least when it comes to these Maori ladies. In the past, they defended their tribe and soil. Today they fi ght for the preservation of their forest. Together with you. Join us on a breathtaking tour of the Te Urewera rainforest, planting your own forest giants that can live up to 1,000 years. This is how you invest in true sustainability.
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American Steph Davis, 45, climbs without using any technical aids.
eedless to say, I’m often asked if I get scared – and certainly, the possi- bility of falling never leaves my
mind. It would be pure madness not to be scared. But the fear doesn’t paralyse me. I harness it and transform it into strength and calmness. When I’m preparing for a climb, I go over it in my mind for months in advance until I’ve internalised every stage of it. A lot of it is in the mind. In perilous situations, I become very calm. For me, courage means accepting that fear is your constant companion. In the right situations, we need to listen to this companion, but we shouldn’t be a slave to it.
I think free climbing is a good metaphor for life. It’s taught me that I can achieve things I once thought impossible. But deliv-ering such top performances requires stam-ina and patience.
In these hectic times, when things seem to keep speeding up, it’s possible to learn how to take our time. We tend to expect everything to happen at once. But you need to look at what you want to achieve within the larger context and then work your way forward step by step. With everything I attempt, I’m ultimately seeking freedom: the freedom to scale my own path and trans-cend my own limits.”
“In perilous situations, I become very calm”Steph Davis scales rock faces measuring up to 900 metres high without using ropes or hooks
You can find a breathtaking video of the freeclimber here: mb4.me/DefineYourPath_
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M Y E L E M E N TSTA RT
Safe grip: Steph Davis conquers a highly challenging wall in south-east Utah.
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“We love to dress glamorously”Women all over the world are inspired by Leena Al Ghouti, a Dubai-based street-style star who currently has 270,000 Instagram followers
Interview: Silvia Ihring
Ms Al Ghouti, what kind of fashion do women in Dubai like?They stay up to date with international trends. The ’90s look we thought was gone forever is actually extremely popular at the moment; everyone wants to look relaxed and sporty. Right now, the most sought- after pieces include the Dior Saddle bag, the Off-White logo belt, the Balenciaga Triple S sneakers and anything with a Burberry or Gucci logo.Why do you think Arab women like dressing up so much?Because Arab women love celebrating! And we love to dress glamorously. The actual occasion isn’t that important, so you’ll never catch us looking shabby. We dress up whether we’re going to a wedding or going grocery shopping, going to a dinner party or to the dentist. We just enjoy it.
way of inspiring others. But my sister was the main reason I created a profile in the first place. She has a fashion label, and we wanted to share a message together and support each other.What kind of posts have proven to be popular?It tends to be posts that look spontaneous and imperfect. It’s often a slightly blurred photo of me wearing a really casual, low- key outfit that generates the most likes and comments. I think that’s because people can identify with me more in photos like that.
You yourself have Canadian- Palestinian roots. Which look do you favour and where do you get your inspiration from?I like sweatshirts and loose blazers, both very common in North America. They have to be oversized and comfortable, and I find layering chic. My mother wore much more extravagant styles back in the ’80s, and that’s inspired me to be bold myself. But I’m not defined by Western trends. I find style ideas in a wide variety of cultures. The main thing is that I stay true to my own personal style and make each outfit my own. What inspired you to document your look on Instagram? Lots of people I know kept telling me I should do it. They thought by sharing my style with the public it would be a great
Leena Al Ghouti is a well-known street-style blogger in the Middle East. She’s Mercedes met her in her home city of Dubai to find out more about her and her culture. For more information, go to mb4.me/Leena_
T R E N D
4Strong shouldersA statement piece from Italy: the label Blazé Milano is bringing back this business classic. blaze-milano.com
6Heavy-footedA clunky shape, thick soles: the Triple S by Balenciaga has all the ingredients of an ugly shoe. balenciaga.com
5For maximalistsThe oversized trend for necks: this gold-tone chain necklace by Marni features a hook closure.marni.com
2In bloomThis quirky silk dress by F.R.S For Restless Sleepers was inspired by nightgowns.forrestlesssleepers.com
1On-messageThis “beep” brooch is a statement from Celine’s creative director, Hedi Slimane. celine.com
3Cool companionElegance meets dapper design: this bright-blue neoprene bag is sure to turn heads. armani.com
April 2019 13 Mercedes
Zolzaya Chultembat, 22, is helping to establish a form of tourism in the north of Mongolia that benefits both locals and travellers.
Northern MongoliaOur tips: Karakorum, located in Khangai Nuruu National Park; the volcano Khorgo on Lake Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur 1 w3w.co/stargazer.precinct.logs 2 w3w.co/excited.schoolteacher.corked
Eagle hunters, reindeer herders and horse breeders: Mongolian people from the north enjoy a traditional way of life.
Imagine how useful it would be to be able to describe the location of any place in the world with just three words. Espe- cially if you happen to be in one of the most remote parts of Mongolia. Last April, Zolzaya Chultembat was the first Mongolian person to be recruited by what3words, a British start-up that has created an app pro-viding a new way of describing addresses. The company has already attracted part-ners such as the accommodation platform Airbnb. The cooperation between these two companies is making it easier for travellers to practise soft-mobility tourism.
Zolzaya, why do Mongolian people use the services provided by what3words?We are young; the majority of the Mongo-lian population is under 30. As a nation with a long nomadic history, we adapt to our environment and to rapid change. Maybe that’s why services like Airbnb and what3words are getting traction.How did the cooperation between what3words and Airbnb start?Addressing in Mongolia is poor and incon-sistent. Many roads and places don’t have official names or exist on digital maps.
T R AV E L
There’s nowhere quite as wild and beautiful as parts of Mongolia. Now travellers can experience local life for themselves
Living with nomads
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Camps such as those in the Taiga Forest and the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park offer accommodation. Listings can be found on the Airbnb website and what3words app.3 w3w.co/stern.matriarchy.lisping4 w3w.co/embroi-dery.allay.database
We wanted to try to find out more about how what3words and Airbnb can help in parts of rural Mongolia where hosts have an even greater challenge helping guests find them due to their nomadic lifestyles. We spoke to a number of nomadic people who use what3words, including eagle hunt-ers and reindeer herders, and they told us it was difficult hosting as much as they wanted to. So we partnered with Airbnb and helped the nomads with listings.What has northern Mongolia got to offer tourists?You can stay with reindeer herders in the Taiga forest, for example, or with a Kazakh family in the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. You will be immersed in the day-to-day life of these tribes, from herding and milking reindeer to cooking traditional Mongolian dishes and making handicrafts. The tents have beds and little wood-fire stoves. The nomads use the forest for almost everything – to make beds, bowls, plates, tools, you name it.How would you describe the spirit of this region and the people?Vast, wild and beautiful. The camps in Taiga Forest are surrounded by a herd of reindeer quietly wandering around, feeding, sleep-ing. It’s quite surreal. When it’s time for the reindeer to move on, the Mongolians pack up the whole camp surprisingly quickly to begin again in a new spot.What concrete advantages does the cooperation offer the local people?Mongolia is the world’s most sparsely pop-ulated country, so welcoming guests makes sense to us. And the extra income is essen-tial for many northern families. With cli-mate change, drought and disease, people need to buy food and medi cation for their animals. I’m delighted that, with Airbnb and what3words, we can help hosts share and preserve traditional culture.
The world in three wordsMercedes-Benz is one of the first car manufac-turers to use the what3words address system. For more information, please go to:mbmag.me/what3words
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Our outlook on the future tends to be shaped by the biggest challenges facing humankind. We met with young thought leaders looking for corresponding solutions – now
Interviews: Gwendolyn Fell
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Melati and Isabel, when was the first time you felt you needed to do some-thing about cleaning up the seas?Melati: We grew up always hearing the saying: “Every second breath comes from the ocean.” This philosophy really left its mark on us.Isabel: To the Balinese people, the oceans are not part of life, they ARE life; without them there is nothing. We interpret the say-ing as meaning we are obligated to do as much for the seas as they do for us. So we got down to business! You launched the Bye Bye Plastic Bags campaign six years ago. What are its achievements so far?Isabel: It has turned into a real movement. People are increasingly waking up to the sheer volume of plastic waste out there. The situation is especially dire on the islands of Indonesia, as witnessed by the tourists that visit Bali with the hopes of going snorkel-ling or diving but find themselves on dirty beaches and in water full of waste. Bali used to be like a paradise, and we want to do our bit to make sure it can go back to being that. What exactly have your efforts achieved?Melati: Thanks to the effort of many, through our six years of campaigning we managed to get the government to imple-ment a ban on single-use plastic bags on Bali. Polluted seas are a global problem, and that’s why we are expanding. Our initiative has already spread to around 34 other loca-tions around the world, with most of the activities led by students. Our primary goal is, of course, to eradicate plastic waste entirely throughout the world. What topic do you consider most worrying?Melati: Climate change! Because it deter-mines what our lives will look like in the near future. Isabel: Because it is something that is hap-pening now, in our lifetime. And it is now up to us to decide how we want to combat it, and how we want to coexist with nature. What is your vision of ideal coexistence with nature?
Isabel: Growing up in Bali, we were raised according to the Tri Hita Karana philosophy, which teaches that you should live in har-mony with three things: the people and the environment around you, and with the spirit within. That sounds like a timeless philosophy for sustainable living…Melati: It definitely is. We strongly believe achieving that kind of balance in our every-day lives would enable us to create a future we would all want to be a part of. A univer-sal concept. Which of your projects best embodies this philosophy? Melati: I think our Mountain Mamas project embodies the concept well. It empowers the local women in Bali to make bags from pre-viously used materials. Half of the sales profit is paid to the women and the other half goes to support three key elements in their community. Firstly, to set up a waste management system. Secondly, to create a healthcare package for families and last, but not least, to improve education. Isabel: This project directly supports women and their families while at the same time promoting social entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability. Speaking of education. Are there any improvements in this area that you are keen to drive? Isabel: Absolutely! We know that real change starts in the classroom, after all. We need to start thinking bigger. We need to start thinking holistically, and we need to start taking social and environmental aspects into account. Melati: The educational system is broken, outdated and in urgent need of change. We want to grow the revolution in education to empower a generation of young change- makers. You’re both still young. What career paths do you envisage for yourselves?Melati: We want to inspire young people to action! That is why environmental protec-tion and education – areas in which there is still so much to do – are so important to us. Seeing more and more young people taking on responsibility in these areas really spurs us on. byebyeplasticbags.org
V I S IONA R I E S
NAME: Melati Wijsen/ Isabel WijsenAGES: 16/18PLACE OF BIRTH: Heerlen, Netherlands/Bali, Indo nesiaJOB/STUDIES: On a gap year between finishing school and starting university/attending year 11 of schoolFAVOURITE TOPIC: Clean oceansVISION: A world without plastic
Ridding our seas of plastic waste
April 2019 19 Mercedes
NAME: Tobias GerbrachtAGE: 21PLACE OF BIRTH: Remscheid, GermanySTUDIES: Currently studying for a degree in industrial design at the University of Wuppertal and serving as a lecturer at the Junior Uni in WuppertalFAVOURITE TOPIC: clean airVISION: That the latest technologies are used to protect the environment
Tobias, what’s been on your mind lately?Air quality. We should all be striving to develop sustainable systems that put as lit-tle strain on the environment as possible. Climate change is real; our planet’s resources are being depleted. We all need to wake up to this fact. What specific steps are you taking in this respect?I’m trying to find out for myself what the air contamination situation is, and have devel-oped the first area-wide measuring station
for gauging pollution. This invention not only earned me first place in the competi-tions Jugend forscht (Germany’s foremost science competition for school-age students) and BundesUmweltWettbewerb (Federal Environment Competition), it also enabled me to make some significant findings. And what conclusions have you come to? That our concerns about air quality in some cities are entirely justified. And that we need to do more in this regard. You are currently studying industrial design. How can product developers and designers contribute to a better future? They should use new technologies. Like 3D
printing, for example. Producing compo-nents via 3D printing does away with many resource-wasting processes and long deliv-ery routes. What are your career ambitions? I want to go into research to help shape the future. But I’m also interested in how the business world uses new technologies. You also work as a lecturer. What do you want to impress upon young people?I want to motivate them to independently recognise where problems lie, and to then find solutions to those problems. This is a competency that we’re going to need in the future.
Developing new technologies that use the climate
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NAME: Kavya KopparapuAGE: 18PLACE OF BIRTH: Herndon, Virginia, USADEGREE: Computer science and biology at Harvard (freshman year)FAVOURITE TOPIC: Artificial intelligenceVISION: Using computers to treat cancer patients
V I S IONA R I E S
Finding a cancer cure using artificial intelligence
Kavya, not only have you won multiple awards; you were also named Time magazine's 25th Most Influential Teenager of 2018. What inspired you to want to find a cure for cancer?I was amazed to find out that the prognosis for patients diagnosed with aggressive can-cers has hardly improved over the past 30 years, despite all the great technological advances. And I am fascinated by the new possibilities that artificial intelligence opens up in this regard.
How do you live out this fascination? I am currently working on GlioVision, a platform that collects genetic information about cancerous tumours. We strongly believe that this method will enable us to make more accurate predictions about how cancers will develop, and to do so in a frac-tion of the time for a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. That sounds like a sustainable vision for the entire healthcare system... It definintely is. I am convinced that tech-nology can revolutionise healthcare. I'm not talking about replacing doctors, of course; rather, I dream of more effective techniques
that are so easy for patients to understand that they can finally trust the healthcare system again. What kinds of experts will this area require in the future?I want to encourage girls to take up STEM subjects, as in science, technology, engi-neering and mathematics. And there is real progress already being made there. I have seen this at work through my non-profit organization Girls Computing League. It is also important to encourage more people of colour into the field because it is an area that needs many different perspectives. kavyakopparapu.com
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Shubham, Amanat, why is hygiene such an important topic for you both?Shubham: We grew up in New Delhi and were fortunate enough to have access to hygienic facilities. Many children in our country and around the world are not so lucky.Amanat: We found it surprising that, despite all the initiatives to educate people in this respect, the problem was still so prevalent. We understood that this called for a different, new approach.What approach would that be? What did you do exactly?Shubham: We introduced products that focused on fun! SoaPens are small pens filled with soap in different colours. Blue, pink and purple are currently the most popular. Children can paint their hands with the coloured liquid, then hold them under water until all the paint has washed off. It puts a new spin on annoying hand-washing.How do the kids react?Shubham: They absolutely love it! The pens do the trick by providing great fun for the kids, and peace of mind for the parents, who can rest assured that their children’s hands really are clean. We are always hear-ing stories from customers about children wanting to take their SoaPens everywhere and refusing to let go of them. But those pens aren’t only about fun, are they?Amanat: What the pens are ultimately about, though, is education. Regular hand washing can protect against almost 60% of infectious diseases.In addition to hygiene, we also take social responsibility seriously, donating a part of the proceeds from pen sales to underprivi-leged communities. We also already donate our product for free to low-income schools in India, and as we scale, to NGOs, too. How do you wish SoaPen to develop?Shubham: We’d like to partner with interna-tional organisations who purchase SoaPen to use it a teaching tool to increase the awareness of hygiene.What other global topics are you concerned by?Shubham: Food waste is a big one. Around
the world, people every year throw away enough food amounting to several billions of US dollars, yet at the same time we also have millions of people around the world suffering from undernourishment. Finding a way to permanently reverse the food waste trend could therefore save countless lives.What would your vision for the future be with regard to food and food waste?Shubham: Ideally, that no food goes to waste and no person goes hungry. We’re a long way from this vision, unfortunately. Where food waste is concerned, we need to find solutions that are compatible with people's everyday lives.Good idea! Do you believe that society’s attitudes towards waste are changing?Shubham: Yes! We are witnessing the rise of conscious consumers, people who care about their impact on the environment. More and more people are thinking about how they consume. So it’s important that companies provide the necessary trans-parency here, for instance by being clear about product ingredients and pack-aging waste.Amanat: We consumers have a great deal of power in this regard. For instance we can use our buying behaviour to force companies to take more responsi- bility, rewarding them with loyalty when they do.How do you envisage your own professional future? What do you want to focus on?Shubham: I want to continue developing innovative products that make everyday life better for kids and adults, and that ideally also benefit the environment. And if I can inspire people through my work, all the better. We regularly visit schools in India and the US and are often surprised by the fact that many young people see us as role models.Amanat: I am really enjoying being an entrepreneur and love the fact that our products are fun. But I would also like to help children learn to indepen -dently exploit their ideas and potential. Having ideas and then being able to put them to the test is a fantastic experience, invaluable.soapen.com
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Using soap to protect against infections
NAME: Shubham Issar/ Amanat AnandAGE: 25/25PLACE OF BIRTH: New Delhi JOB: Founders of SoaPen, headquartered in New YorkFAVOURITE TOPIC: Hygiene VISION: That all children throughout the world should be able to wash their hands
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Working on a green future for East Africa
Leroy, what things have most influenced your world view?My view of the world today has been shaped by hardship. I am therefore driven by a natural instinct to work hard to solve the problems I encounter. And the most urgent of these problems?The looming energy crisis. Many African countries rely on supplies from abroad. This spells trouble. The principal goal of our start-up company Greenpact is to create a green future for East Africa.
And how do you propose achieving this aim?We provide small farmers and institu- tions with innovative biogas systems. This enables them to use the decomposition process to derive biogas from biological and organic waste (e.g. food leftovers, fertiliser, mown grass). This gas can then be used in their cookers. What are the advantages of this process?It is beneficial to the environment because it uses natural resources. And it is a compara-tively cost-effective process. It also makes us less reliant on energy from abroad.
What other topics are close to your heart?We need better education opportunities for everyone. Our start-up CampBuni is a holiday camp for young people between the ages of 13 and 18. It was set up with the goal of promoting better educational opportunities and is financed through Greenpact profits.What do young people learn there?At CampBuni, we develop participants’ design-thinking, problem-solving and lead-ership skills – skills set to become ever more important. greenpact.co.ke
NAME: Leroy MwasaruAGE: 21PLACE OF BIRTH: Nairobi, KenyaDEGREE/JOB: Graduate of the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg. Founder of two start-upsFAVOURITE TOPIC: Regenera-tive energies, education for allVISION: Wants to forge a path out of Africa’s impending energy crisis
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Justify nothing.The new B-Class. Discover more at mercedes-benz.com/justifynothing
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Interview: Helen HoehnePhotos: Angelo Pennetta/ Art Partner
Emma Stone is one of the most sought-after and more sensitive stars in Hollywood, and playing a depressive meant facing her fears. An interview about taking responsibility and questioning what is normal
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mma Stone arrives for our interview at New York’s Crosby Street Hotel feeling
perky and good humoured. Even battling a cold, for which she apologises throughout our chat, does not hold her back. The subject matter – depres-sion – is something that has attracted the Arizona native for some time: she has openly discussed her own panic and anxiety attacks.
Ms Stone, you turned 30 last November. How different do you feel from the girl we first met when you promoted Easy A? I feel pretty similar but I also feel like I have learned a lot and have been through a lot more. It’s just as anyone does in those years, you experience more and become more circumspect about choices you make in your life. I still feel like the same goofball I was 10 years ago for the most part, but now with just a little bit more context.What are you excited about in the next decade?Getting older has been a fun experience so far, gaining more wisdom and context for things. I was a little gloomy the week before I turned 30. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe because of all the memories that you have from the past decade. But people say that pretty much every time they age another decade, I think. Now I am just really happy and I am looking forward to seeing what is going to happen in my 30s.What drives you?Creativity and passion are two big driving forces, but of course for those to develop you need to have a support system. You need some basis for them
E to grow from. I admire a lot of women who are my friends, and without them I couldn’t do what I do.What has been your biggest purchase so far?My house has been the biggest expense, probably. It’s a luxury to have your own home and I am very grateful for it.You are one of the most successful stars in Hollywood. What attracted you to the Netflix show Maniac?It was an interesting challenge to tell the story of a character over five hours rather than the two hours you have in a movie. And I got to play five characters throughout the show, which was really excit- ing. I want to go where the good material is, and it can be film or television or theatre. So it didn’t really feel all that different, it just felt like a more extended endeavour.The show delves into fascinating themes including depression. What do you think audiences will take from it and what discussions will it stir up?One of the things my character talks about near the end, she asks what is normal? She says basically everybody goes through something difficult, and I think that is really true. It might not be a mental illness that needs to be medicated, but if you need medicine for what you are struggling with, that’s completely valid and a viable option. Everybody goes through pain, drama, anxiety and depression, situational or otherwise. Talking about that and admitting we all struggle, we have all lost and we all have pain, and that it is normal not to feel normal, and that connecting with people can be a healing balm for us
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Her career Emma Stone has received numerous accolades. Her mesmerising turn as the aspiring actress Mia who pursues a bittersweet romance with jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) in the movie musical La La Land (2016) won her a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Another Oscar nomination for her role in The Favourite
Stone has already re ceived the golden trophy for her performance in La La Land.
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Her new showEmma Stone stars opposite friend and colleague Jonah Hill in the Netflix comedy-drama Maniac. Set in New York City in the near future, the show is about two emotionally damaged strangers who join an unorthodox pharmaceu-tical trial to find a remedy for their problems.
instead of isolating ourselves … I thought that was a beautiful and important discussion to have.What’s your advice to people who go through a painful experience or a huge loss?I can only paraphrase what my character says: the pain never goes away. It stays with you, and you keep living through it. I think that is really true and it changes you forever. You are never going to go back to the same person you were before. That kind of huge loss requires more than meditation or more sleep, or having some conversations with people you trust. And that all helps, of course, but I think when it comes to that huge, unspeak-able loss, one of the most insane things about being human is the resilience that we need to have. Part of living is losing things you feel you should never have to lose and feeling pain you should never have to experience, and everyone goes through it at different times, but everyone does go through it.What do you do when you don’t feel good?I call somebody. Usually I feel that if I can talk it out with somebody, it really, really helps. I pretty much share my feelings to a fault so I say it or show it, or act it away. Talking always helps.What are your thoughts on anti-depressants?I know people have benefitted greatly from them, so I think that it’s a “to each their own” issue. I would hope that people do deeper work alongside it and talk to people and really examine if that is the right choice for them. But I think it can be in many ways a life-saving option for people.
What advice would you give to your younger self?I am sure there is stuff I wish I had known earlier, but people are meant to learn by doing and through experi-ence. It’s hard to tell a young person “Don’t get this,” or “One day this is going to feel like that,” and “You are going to wish that you made this decision.” Kids think “Shut up, I am going to do whatever I want.” So I doubt I would have listened to my own advice.Have all the dreams that you had as a kid come true?The dream was always to act. Other things that can come with that are more fantasies, like you don’t even know what to expect because that life feels so far-fetched. Now, it feels different as it really happens because you are still yourself and it doesn’t change you internally, it only changes things externally in a beautiful way. And it is incredibly wonderful as it’s happening, but internally you still have the same insecurities to battle and the same growing to do. So it doesn’t fix that for you, but feeling that your work, this thing that you dreamt of doing, is being recognised in that way is an amazing, beautiful gift. Choosing the material that you want to be a part of, or choosing the films that you want to be a part of, is so rare in our industry. When you look at the whole Screen Actors Guild, a small percent-age is working regularly. Four percent is working regularly, and of that, maybe one percent is getting to actively choose every role or part that they want to be involved in. So I don’t take it for granted for a second.
In Battle of the Sexes she took on the role of tennis legend Billie Jean King.
In the Netflix series Maniac, Emma Stone plays a depressive patient.
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The Berber carpets created by craftswomen in the Atlas Mountains haven’t flown anywhere in quite some time. But they strengthen these women’s positions in a world that can still be rather archaic. A visit to the women of Douar Anzal
Text: Iris MydlachPhotos: Evelyn Dragan If you want to buy
a rug, you’ll be presented with a dizzying array of
options in Marrakesh. Ourdia Razzouk
(right) in front of the family loom in
Douar Anzal
Learning to fly
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new rug has just been ordered. The loom that Ourdia Razzouk will weave it on is in
her sister’s house, which is not far away. If you are driving there from Marrakesh, you’ll see it on the left, behind the school on the hill. It is located in a tiny, remote village in the desert with no street names and no house numbers to indicate an address.
The loom is tucked away, almost hidden, in a dim corner of the liv-ing room. There is hardly any day-light, and there are no lamps to illuminate the workspace. But Razzouk doesn’t mind a bit. She sits down on the floor and strokes the yarn in front of her as if it were her daughter’s hair. Then she picks out two of the threads stretched across the loom, wraps a skein of wool around them, ties a knot and trims the ends with a fruit knife,
school that was set up as a result of this network, and about women who are finally taking charge of their lives. It’s also about a well that brought running water and, with it, even more progress to the village. It is a story people tell each other throughout the region.
If you are trying to find a Ber-ber village in Morocco, you’ll need to travel to some of the most remote parts of the Atlas Moun-tains. These isolated villages are scattered across the mountain range that stretches all the way from the Sahara in the south up to the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts in the north. The roads tend to be little more than discrete dirt tracks winding their way up the mountains with no guardrails for protection and no lay-bys for emer-gency stops.
Andrea Bury first travelled these roads eight years ago. She and her then-husband had bought an old palace in Marrakesh’s medina back in 2007 with the aim of turning it into a hotel with the qualified assistance of the neigh-bourhood’s craftspeople. The join-ers, welders and carpenters who helped build Riad Anayela were highly skilled, says Bury, and, most importantly, they were paid a fair wage for their efforts. Pro-viding a fair wage for good work has become one of the guiding principles of Bury’s endeavours in and around Morocco. It is the prin-ciple that led, slowly but surely, to the creation of an entire network of people she knows she can count on in Marrakesh. “I was never on a mission”, she says. “I just had a gut feeling that kept growing stronger and stronger. I felt it was unfair that people with such special skills weren’t even able to provide their children with a decent education.”
At the time, Bury travelled reg-ularly from Africa to Germany, bringing beautiful things like
Job-hunting: Btissame Aououch, 24, has completed a business degree in Marrakesh.
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all in a single movement lasting no more than a few brief seconds.
This is what it looks like every time the women of Douar Anzal are at work. It has been eight years since they embarked on this busi-ness venture. Andrea Bury, a Ger-man businesswoman who runs a hotel in Marrakesh, had brought the idea for the business to Douar Anzal. This may sound a little like some kind of development aid, but nothing could be further from the truth: it is a partnership of equals.
The family loom has become not only a symbol of progress, but a symbol of the new freedom enjoyed by the women of Douar Anzal. This is a success story in the truest sense. It is about a foreigner who arrived in a Berber village one day and asked the women if they would like to make rugs for her and estab-lish a little network. It is about a
“The fact that they’re
suddenly being supported is giving
them a new lease of life”
Andrea Bury
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baskets, rugs and embroidered leather handbags for her friends back home. One friend asked Bury if it would be possible to make one of these exquisite bags with a cus-tom adjustable strap. That is when it occurred to Bury that she could simply go ask the people who are renowned for their thousands of years of craftsmanship: the Berber women in the Atlas Mountains.
That’s what led her to a village consisting of just 40 houses in Douar Anzal. Ali Razzouk, Ourdia’s nephew, was one of the first vil-lagers to express interest in the foreign woman’s proposal. The women of the village would make rugs, Bury suggested, and the money they earned would then be invested in projects of great interest and value for the village, such as building a school. The children could attend the school in the mornings while the women worked, and the women would learn how to read and write in the afternoons. The women of Douar Anzal eventually decided to take
Ourdia Razzouk: the community’s weavers meet for an impromptu party.
Made to order: Ourdia Razzouk weaves bespoke rugs for customers.
Well hidden: Moroccans call the Berbers’ red clay houses “hidden villages”.
Bury up on her offer, and, without ever signing any kind of formal contract, both sides continue to keep their side of the bargain to this day. That comes as no surprise to Bury. “Women are reliable; they care about their children and their community,” she says. The women of Douar Anzal now receive regular
orders for bespoke rugs from cus-tomers in Germany. The crafts-women spend their mornings weaving diligently and their after-noons at school. Ourdia Razzouk only has to go next door to visit the classroom or see the teacher, Lahcen Ididi, as the school is based in an extension built on to her house. On this particular morning, the children are learning the Arabic alphabet. Ididi writes letters on the whiteboard and says them aloud, and the children repeat them in unision. Five mornings a week, 30 kids sit and study on woven stools, and their mothers, who are also eager to learn how to read and write, come in the after-noons for their sessions.
Children who graduate from preschool in Douar Anzal go on to become some of the best students in the state-run primary school.
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Dazzling: in Morocco, the vibrant colours
of the sky and yarns emit a warm glow.
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And their mothers recently told Bury that they can finally read the package inserts accompanying med-ication prescribed to themselves or their children. “They tend to have big plans for their children. They want them to become pilots or university professors. But when it comes to themselves, their dreams are surprisingly limited. In the past, women would have kids and raise them, and that was about it. But now they’re learning to read and write, they’re learning how to use computers. The fact that they’re suddenly being challenged is giving them a new lease of life,” Bury says.
Later in the morning, bread and olive oil – a typical Berber break-fast – is served in Ourdia Razzouk’s living room. Ourdia perches on a footstool, her husband sits on the sofa next to her, and Lahcen Ididi pours tea. They chat in French, English and Amazigh, the language of the Berbers, or “free people”, as they like to be called. The Amazigh people have inhabited northern Africa since the Stone Age. Their living conditions are tough; not everyone enjoys the luxuries of electricity and running water. And winter in the Atlas Mountains can be long.
In Douar Anzal, however, condi-tions have steadily improved over the past few years. Six years ago, the villagers and the Abury Foun-dation built a well, and as a result, nearly all of the houses in the vil-lage now have running water. The project came into being after Bury spent a night in the Berber village. She slept in the Razzouks’ house – on the floor, as is customary in the village. The next morning, she was given half a bucket of water to last her the whole day. For the first time, Bury understood what it means to live in a house without running water. Yet this region is anything but poor. In spring, the landscape around Marrakesh is
astonishingly green. Lush, verdant fields lie at the bottom of cactus- lined hillsides, and palms and olive trees grow on the city’s out-skirts. The world of Ourdia Raz-zouk and Btissame is rich in good oil and honey. It’s also rich in the kind of knowledge that’s passed down from generation to genera-tion. Here, women are the guardi-ans of local craftsmanship. They make baskets from dried palm fronds and weave the rugs that have made their culture famous all over the world.
Bury leaves Douar Anzal late in the afternoon. She doesn’t like driving in the dark, she says; many Moroccans sit at the side of the roads at night, and accidents are a regular occurrence.
Later that evening, Marrakesh is buzzing, and the vendors have taken up their positions on the
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Magical: palms on the outskirts of Marrakesh
Model students: preschool children in Douar Anzal learn the Arabic alphabet.
Exemplary: the women of the village gather for class at the foot of the mosque.
central square. If you want to buy a rug in Marrakesh, you will be presented with a staggering array of colours, shapes, patterns and styles. But nobody seems to know for sure where the rugs come from, under what conditions they were produced and who will ultimately make money from them.
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Helping people help themselves: the Aury Collection develops products in collaboration with local craftspeople in Morocco and international designers. Half of the profits go to the Abury Foundation, which supplements this money with donations to finance projects for women and children in the villages. www.abury.org / www.abury.net
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Tonight in Riad Anayela there’s chicken tagine for dinner. Employ-ees in elegant grey suits flit quietly back and forth between the kitchen and the tables. The aromas of lemon, cinnamon, olives, coriander and cardamom hang in the air, bringing together the best of both worlds: the Berber villages of the northern Atlas Mountains and the spice markets of Marrakesh.
The woman in the kitchen who magically combines all these fla-vours is called Khadija. Like all the other hotel employees, Khadija comes from the narrow, winding lanes of Marrakesh’s ancient medina. Bury and her former hus-band also lived in the medina while their hotel was being reno-vated. As they had no time to cook,
they hired Khadija, who is now chef de cuisine of this five-star hotel and whose recipes now grace numerous cookbooks. Khadija’s is a story that sounds like it came from One Thousand and One Nights. But this is no fairytale; it is a tale of hard work, dedication and persistence – qualities with which the women of Morocco are inti-mately familiar.
Devout: the muezzin’s call to prayer is broadcast from the mosque’s minaret several times a day.
Passion project: for Andrea Bury, support-ing the women of Morocco is more than just a job.
Price negotiable: in the medina, prices for rugs can vary wildly.
At the market: vendors, tourists and storytellers gather in Jemaa el Fna square.
Are you interested in a trip to Morocco at the end of 2019 with She’s Mercedes? Please send us an e-mail with the keyword “Morocco” to: [email protected]
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April 2019 41 Mercedes
inland is in many respects a curious country. We are masters when it comes to doing things differently from everyone
else in the world. When I was at school, we had to do a test. We only found out about it at very short notice. It was called PISA and was being conducted in 32 countries. The results from Finland were among the best in the world. This was back in 2000, the year in which the PISA study – an international standard-ised test that compares the knowledge levels of 15-year-old school pupils – was born. The results achieved by Finnish pupils took every-one by surprise, and indeed, since then, I have regularly been posed the question, “So what do you do differently?”
I always explain that the Finnish school system is based on a clear set of values. The focus where I come from is on equal opportu-nities as opposed to creating elites. On play as opposed to drills. Exam stress is not something Finnish children are familiar with because our system seeks to teach them maths, biology and other subjects through play; to use creative approaches for conveying knowledge. Kids are by nature curious and should stay that way. They shouldn’t be learning things by heart, but rather encouraged to comprehend context. They should feel they have free rein to find their own answers and to solve their own problems.
Learning effectively must involve some form of play – a typically Finnish principle. In our country, we let children play for longer because we believe learning originates through play. There is a consensus on this in Finnish society. Play boosts your stamina and concentration, extends your attention span and helps you
Children playfully build themselves a secure future. An interpretation by Berlin-based illustrator Laura Junger
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Let them play longer!Interview: Iris MydlachIllustration: Laura Junger
In the 2000s, Finnish-born Linda Liukas and her classmates ranked among the world’s best pupils. How does she think education today can be improved? By making it fun and integrating coding into each subject
Linda Liukas, born in 1986, advises education policy-makers around the world. She also writes and publishes children’s books that creatively convey computing knowledge. lindaliukas.com
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tackle problems more effectively. A lack of it will increase your tendency to get frustrated easily, while a healthy dose will strengthen your solu-tion orientation. In terms of what is more bene-ficial to academic careers, four-year-old children are much better off playing continuously than learning to read.
Conveying such lesson content requires highly trained specialists. Our teacher training system is therefore extremely stringent when it comes to selection. In fact, there have been years when getting a place in a teaching pro-gramme was harder than getting into medical or law school. This makes it especially hard to model the Finnish system in other coun-tries, at least where people are trying to copy it one to one. Because doing this would require fundamental and drastic changes in people’s mindsets. Even the staff working in our kinder-gartens have bachelor’s degrees in education.
What’s more, the Finnish curriculum under- goes revision every 10 years, which most recently occurred in 2016. This makes total sense if you consider, for example, that in 2006, the iPhone still didn’t exist. So between then and 2016, the world became something unrecognis-able. Curriculum content is another area in which the Finns have been bold. For example, the 2016 curriculum was among the first to incorporate programming and coding across all different age groups.
But we also think differently. We see com-puters and programming as integral to all school subjects, as much to biology as to the arts. After all, writing a computer program is little different from drawing with a crayon, or building a Lego castle. It’s about expressing yourself, dividing a big task into little ones, recognising patterns and step-by-step plans, and demonstrating a mindset, not rattling off information like a par-rot. Finns are open to this. From children, we can learn how to openly approach complex tasks and challenges, and this prepares us for chal-lenges to come.
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Interview: Silvia Ihring
Nao Tamura is widely regarded as one of the brightest stars of industrial design. She’s concerned not just with aesthetics, but also with responsibility, especially when it comes to her
choice of materials. A studio visit in New York
In harmony
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The Japanese designer Nao Tamura takes a stand –
both in her studio in New York and beyond.
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ao Tamura’s New York loft contains little to distract her from her work. The furnishings are minimalistic, the high
white walls are bare. But who needs flowers and pictures when you’ve got a roof terrace with a view of the East River?
The Japanese-born designer, who has been living in New York for several years, moved from Brooklyn to an attic apartment in Midtown just a few months ago. Tamura is petite and warm, her hair is short, and her eyes are defined with just a hint of eyeliner. She takes us through her apart-ment, which also serves as a studio, closely followed by her dog, Oreo. This is where Tamura, a graduate of the Parsons School of Design, designs measuring jugs for the kitchenware manufacturer Pyrex, elaborate light installations for the glass manu-facturer WonderGlass, perfume bottles for Issey Miyake, and handwoven rugs for the Spanish label Nanimarquina. Tamura has never confined herself to one medium or design form, and her clients range from tech giants to long-established Italian design companies.
Tamura moves nimbly between these poles, and although her work is heavily influenced by technological developments, it also conveys an appreciation for nature. Thus, for example, rugs resemble the leaves of large trees, while lamps recall the Venetian Lagoon. Technology and nature must exist in harmony with each other, Tamura believes.
Ms Tamura, you design an extremely wide range of objects. Do you ever worry about your work’s impact on consumption and the environment?I believe all designers are responsible for thinking about how their work impacts the environment, and I think most of them do. But the reality is that we are now living in a fast-paced world. If, like me, you work for large companies, you simply receive a com-mission and a deadline, and you are then expected to deliver your design within an extremely short time frame. You create a digital design first, and sometimes you never even develop a model. This tends to leave you with little time to think about sus-tainability, unfortunately. So how do you deal with that?
In practice, working in a consistently sus-tainable manner is a formidable challenge. You should scrutinise yourself, the world, and your client, especially if you are a creative. I occasionally design mass- produced electronic devices like smart-phones and cameras. But at some point I’ll say to myself, “Stop, what are you doing?” And then I’ll try to seek out a project that reminds both myself and the public about how important it is to slow down every now and then. When I’m designing something, I don’t think so much in terms of shapes and colours, but rather more about the stories and the messages I want to share. I think that’s why I get so much inspiration from nature; it reminds me of my responsibility.You were born and grew up in Tokyo. Has your love of nature got anything to do with your background? It certainly does. Japan is a small island that is constantly being overwhelmed by nature’s energy. Earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tsunamis – the Japanese people experience catastrophes like these on their doorstep, which is why they are so attuned to nature. In Japan, people eat seasonally. You could tell by the dishes my mother served whether it was autumn or spring. Since liv-ing away from Japan, I’ve learned to appre-ciate these things even more. Despite all our technological advances, nature continues to be a major source of inspiration for designers. Why is that?Everyone feels connected to nature in one way or another. It’s universal. Everyone knows what a tree is, everyone has to live with the weather. I think nature is the per-fect ambassador for my work. In 2010, I designed a line called ‘Seasons’ for the Ital-ian tableware manufacturer Covo. The line contains silicone plates that are shaped like leaves. The Seasons line reminds people that, just like the seasons themselves, everything is part of a cycle, so the silicone in the plates is recyclable. Unfortunately, people today no longer value what is old.Seasons is a good example of how you merge technology and nature … I try to strike a balance between the types of work I take on. Sometimes I design elec-tronic devices for large companies. This kind of work is important because it
provides me with a regular income. It also involves designing products that people need, and as a designer, you want your designs to be used. Other times, though, I like to design beautiful, precious objects that give me visibility. Are there certain areas where techno-logical advances are changing the range of possibilities open to design?Yes, in lighting design. Some of the develop-ments in LED technology have opened up a new wealth of possibilities for designers. We are now working with tiny lights instead of large bulbs, which affords us the freedom to work in a far more creative and experi-mental way than before. Do such developments make you want to work more on low-tech jobs or crafts?They definitely do. Especially when you consider that certain handcrafted products, for example furniture, last longer. I want to design things that last. I love working with glass. It’s a stubborn material; in fact, you could almost see it as a living organism, and in that sense it’s the opposite of plastic. If you try to force glass into a certain shape, it dies, but if you give it room, it will reward you with the most beautiful light. In indus-trial design, you enjoy the luxury of being able to plan out almost every detail in advance. When I’m designing a glass object, however, the finished result is in many ways completely beyond my control. To date, I’ve had all my glass designs produced in Murano, near Venice, where they have been maintaining the tradition of glass-blowing for hundreds of years. I will certainly continue to explore this kind of collaboration with local craftsmen and -women.Do you think that customers really place more value on objects that have clearly been produced by hand?Yes, I think they do. I once designed wooden chopping boards for the design studio Hem. The grain was different in each board, and that is what made them so beautiful. The same goes for textiles. A handcrafted prod-uct is something unique, and that is a real rarity in today’s world.
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Nao Tamura creates designs for some of the world’s biggest companies. For more information, visit naotamura.com
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A mood board for lamp designs
‘Alight’ merges nature with technology.
Tamura beams at her dog, Oreo.
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Airy: when considering the engines of the future, developers often take inspiration from nature.
How will we
Mercedes Mercedes-Benz48
S US TA I NA BI L I T Y
When it comes to environmentally sound forms of future mobility, Jana Krägenbring-Noor and Claudia Ansorge-Kneer are among the knowledgeable experts at Daimler AG. A chat about ideas for tomorrow
Interview: Hendrik Lakeberg
travel tomorrow?
Mercedes49April 2019
S ustainable mobility is among the hottest trending topics out there
right now, and there is wide-ranging debate on the question of how to satisfy modern travel and goods transportation needs, while also respecting the environ-ment. Daimler AG has long been committed to acting responsibly in this respect, though the impact of sustaina-bility on strategic direction has never been as significant and multi-faceted as it is today. Current practices of network-ing, auto nomous driving, car sharing, new services and e-mobility are disrupting the industry on a widespread level never seen before.
There are two employees in particular driving the process of cultural change at Daimler AG: Claudia Ansorge-Kneer is involved in fuel cell develop-ment and Jana Krägenbring- Noor is tasked with gearing the company strategy towards greater sustainability and environmental protection. We met the experts in Stuttgart.
Ms Krägenbring-Noor, Ms Ansorge-Kneer, if it were possible to travel into the future and witness the results of the work you’re doing today, what would you be particularly happy about?A.-K.: The fact that I spent a considerable proportion of my professional life on a meaning-ful, important path. And that I can say to my kids: “We worked on something that will markedly improve the lives of future generations.”K.-N.: I feel the same way. What we are doing today is setting the course for the future: working on ensuring that Mercedes-Benz vehicles
remain a reliable means of getting from A to B, perhaps autonomously, but that they do so in a way that is carbon- neutral and powered by renewable energies. If we can achieve that, then we will have accomplished a great deal – and I will be giving my future self a well-deserved pat on the back.You are both integral parts of the group’s mobility trans-formation goals. What is it about this subject that interests you personally?K.-N.: Sustainability is not only a very topical issue, but a critical issue that affects us all, and I feel very honoured to be personally involved in the project and to have the opportunity here to make a difference with my work.A.-K.: I am interested in the big picture – the energy revolution taking place around the world is fascinating to follow, and it is wonderful to be actively involved in shaping this change within the automotive sector. Some of my colleagues have to drive long distances to work every day – they put themselves through a lot because they love their jobs and don’t want to work any- where else. We are hard at work forging the Daimler AG path toward zero-emissions driving, based on battery technology and fuel cells. What are the biggest challenges e-mobility is facing at the moment?A.-K.: The topic is very complex and intricate: it is not just a question of technology, but also about the correspond-ing infrastructure, and about protecting the climate. So it has to be tackled in a holis- tic and interdisciplinary manner. The push for greater P
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For more on sustainability, visit: daimler.com/nachhaltigkeit/
Jana Krägenbring-Noor heads the Daimler AG Environmental Protection & Energy Management unit.
Chemical engineer Claudia Ansorge-Kneer is a member of the vehicle development team and is currently working on future-focused powertrains.
sustainability affects all areas of our lives. K.-N.: Take our cars, for example. Every vehicle category has the task of catering to different require-ments – furthermore we don’t just manufacture passenger cars, but also vans, trucks and buses that we sell all over the world. We do eventually end up with the right solution, but getting to that point is a process that is going to need as much time as it is going to need. That said, a large proportion of our vehicles are already equipped with alternative powertrains. Ms Ansorge-Kneer, how are fuel cells relevant in this regard?A.-K.: Our idea is that the fuel cell should serve as an energy supplier for electric engines. I have been with the company since 1998 and have long believed fuel cells to be an effective form of propulsion. What advantages do fuel cells present? A.-K.: Hydrogen can be easily stored and transported, and it can be supplied via petrol stations – and water is available almost everywhere.How can that fact be exploited in practice?A.-K.: Well, we have observed that alternative energy sources based on wind and solar power are on the increase, and sometimes weather extremes lead to these energy provi- ders producing a surplus of energy: currently whenever that happens, wind farms pause their operations entirely – but it would surely be better to make use of the surplus energy.How could that be done?A.-K.: There are several possibilities in relation to fuel
cells. Lots of wind farms are located at the coast or even in the sea, which makes it a reasonable option to harness the surplus energy for breaking water down into its elements, thereby generat-ing hydrogen. Ms Krägenbring-Noor, how is the concept of sustainability being tangibly incorporated into the corporate strategy?K.-N.: We are working to further improve our vehicles’ ecological footprints – not just in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, but also with a focus on resource preservation and using sustainable materials. We are looking at the system as a whole, performing lifecycle assess-ments across all our areas and comparing the results. This work that we are doing encompasses the manufacture of vehicle parts, production processes at our plants and use of the vehicles, and vehicle recycling. The more regenera-tive energy and sustainable materials we use, the better the car’s footprint. But there are many other considerations in the question of the mobility of tomorrow …K.-N.: To us, promoting sustainability also means making driving safer and protecting our customers’ data. Other big issues in this regard include how to improve city traffic in future, and how best to uphold human rights. On the latter issue, we strive to ensure that all parts used in our vehicles have been manufactured under ethically sound conditions. To Daimler, promoting sustainability is about taking our responsibility as a company seriously – for the sake of both our customers
and society as a whole.Do you feel that efforts to promote sustainability are moving quickly enough?A.-K.: Developments in this area are certainly moving at speed. Just look at the recent hype around electric engines! Work on fuel cell development began at Daimler AG way back in the 1990s, when fuel cell power units were so large they took up the entire storage space; the units we’re using today can easily fit into a GLC or B-Class. We really have made great progress. K.-N.: I have found my colleagues to all be very open to our sustainability strategy. Some people have certain reservations of course, and a lot of questions are asked. But wherever I am, I can see that everyone is motivated to tackle the issue. They all know that the time has come to actively transition to a more sustain-able way of doing things – you can feel this shift in the air.And, of course, more and more customers are factor-ing sustainability into their purchase decisions too.K.-N.: That’s another reason why the topic is so important to us: the transformation we are experiencing as a company reflects the fascinating cultural changes taking place in society right now. Sure, we have a lot of high expectations to live up to from within the political sphere and from non-profit organisations, and not least our own high expectations of ourselves. But these are expectations we actively want to meet, so we are happy to strive towards them.
51 MercedesApril 2019
be
bold!
Marie Wieck is considered a blockchain icon and ranks amongst the world’s leading tech experts. She is primarily responsible for fostering female junior employees in the IT sector. What is her message for young women who choose to lead?
Interview: Severin MevissenPhotos: Alex Trebus
F U T U R E BUS I N E S S
52 Mercedes-Benz Mercedes
s Wieck, how did you get into this field of mathematics and science we call STEM?I continue to joke that I still don’t know what I
want to be when I grow up, but I’ve always been interes ted in maths and science. I applied to seven colleges and happened to get into Cooper Union. This college was free and therefore I thought someone was trying to tell me something when I got accepted to the engineering programme. I wound up majoring in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science. Then I got an internship at IBM and the rest is history: I went on to get my master’s, had a small stint at Bell Labs and then went back to IBM. Since then, I’ve been involved in hardware, software, the cloud, mobile services and blockchain technology.So you were already interested in STEM as a girl?Yes, my favourite thing was the science fair. I am naturally curious. I like to know how things work. Who were your role models growing up?My biggest role model was my dad. He grew up in Germany, right outside of Stuttgart, where Daimler’s headquarters are. Originally, he wanted to be an engineer, but World War II interrupted his dream, so he became an apprentice to be a bookbinder and came to the US. He started his own business, he literally built his own house, we worked on our own cars … His whole philo sophy was that if you can read, you can do anything.Do you speak any German?I understand a bit but I don’t really speak it. It is one of my New Year’s resolutions to learn German. Particularly with the connection now with Daimler, I really want to be able to engage directly with some of the team there.What about female role models?I went to an allgirls high school where everyone – the president of the student council, the captain of the basketball team, the faculty for the most part – they were all women. Anything that needed to be done was done by a woman. It definitely prepared me to not be afraid to lead. Also, I grew up at a time when the women’s lib movement was very strong. I still have a Tshirt from a race I did when I was a kid and it says: “Women Run the World”.Women are still a minority in computer science and software development. How can we make programming cool for girls? True, there are fewer women now in computer science than when I started. But things are improving again. When you look at STEM in total, we see more women than men going to med school. In large part this is because there are very clear and visible role models for women in the field of medicine – women to look up to in
The blockchain icon: Marie Wieck at her IBM office in New York. She joined the company in 1983 and has held a variety of techical and executive roles.
TV, movies and popular media. When I was growing up, one of the shows that I loved was MacGyver. MacGyver, this nerdy detective type – really?Oh yes! Here was someone that solved problems using science. We don’t have enough of those characters in tech. If you cannot imagine a job and a career path for you, you won’t pursue it. That’s why it is important to have more visible role models. Movies like Hidden Figures or the documentary on Hedy Lamarr, who was an inventor and scientist in addition to being a glamorous actress, are good sources of inspiration.You are the GM of IBM’s Blockchain division. Could you explain in layman’s terms how blockchain technology works and in what areas besides cryptocurrencies it will be useful?At its core, blockchain is about trusted data. It’s an electronic recordkeeping system that creates a new way to share and secure data across a business network. The data could represent assets like a car, or transactions like a foreign currency exchange, and not just the current value of the data, but the history of every update or transfer is recorded and shared simultaneously with the consent of all interested parties who have a role in the network. The ability to do this in real time, maintaining access and governance across many disparate parties, without a middleman, is what makes it so transformative. The results are some exciting new business models in areas like provenance, supply chain and financing. That’s quite abstract. Could you give some examples where blockchain possibly will change the world?We are using it for food safety, for example, or to exchange information in clinical drug trials and even to detect clickad fraud on the internet. We will also be using it to make the mining of cobalt more safe and ethical. Another area of application is digital rights management, where it can be used to make sure that the artist who recorded a song actually gets paid or that the donation you made to charity actually made it to the right place. We think it will fundamentally change the way transactions are done just as the internet changed the way people communicate. In addition to your role as general manager of IBM’s Blockchain division, you are also on the Super- visory Board of Daimler AG. What responsibilities and what opportunities come with that position?I’ve been on the board since April 2018 and it has been a fascinating journey, particularly given the digital transformation that is occurring in the auto industry. The whole notion of the shift from “I am the manufacturer of a car or a truck” to “I am an innovative mobility service provider” is a fundamental part of what my role
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is on the Supervisory Board, which is to communicate to investors how the growth and value of Daimler AG continue to develop. Seeing the intersection between different industries and how technology can really help benefit the end users is an important aspect.Often enough, women are discouraged from juggl- ing their careers and their caregiver roles. How did you manage to have both a family and a career?Well, it takes a village. Both my husband and I shared caregiving responsibilities. I took a leave of absence, I worked parttime for a while. He took a leave of absence and then retired early to spend more time with our children. We had a large extended family, and I also had great support from IBM with regards to different flexibility options at work. Don’t be afraid to “outsource”. You don’t have to do everything, and you can turn to others for help.You have two daughters, 20 and 22 years old. How do you encourage them to find their way in the world?Both my husband and I are engineers, so they had plenty of exposure to maths and science, but the most important thing is to do what you love. As long as you expose your children to and allow them to explore all different aspects of life – arts, science, music, different cultures, different places – I think they’ll find their way.What would you personally still like to achieve or learn?I like to really engage with the things I am focused on. So my two big things for this year, apart from getting more fit and eating better, are learning German as I said and trying to be a much more visible role model myself to women in STEM.What is the best advice someone has ever given you and what would your advice for aspiring young women be?You can’t get fit by reading about exercise! This is true for any career or venture. You have to try new things. I’ve seen studies that say a child today will likely have seven careers before they retire. And it was estimated that three of those careers don’t even exist yet. When I think back on my career, mobile and blockchain technologies were not part of my education and yet were things that I did. You can’t be afraid to continually learn new things; be curious and then just dive into the deep end. Be bold!
“You have to try new things”
Marie Wieck joined IBM in 1983. She has held a variety of technical and executive roles in IBM’s hardware, software, services and cloud units. Today she is general manager of IBM Blockchain and member of Daimler’s Supervisory Board. For more information, please go to mb4.me/MarieWieck
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April 2019 55 Mercedes
56 Mercedes-Benz Mercedes
“WE TALKED ABOUT HIS PLANS ALL THE TIME. THAT’S HOW I BECAME
SO FAMILIAR WITH THE TECHNOLOGY”
Elegant upswept hairstyle, exquisite ball gown: a young, smartly dressed Bertha Ringer poses for a picture at the end of the 1860s.
Without this woman, Mercedes-Benz might never have existed. You certainly wouldn’t be reading this magazine. So what made the
intelligent young Bertha Benz so ambitious and determined?
Text: Silvia Tyburski
S H E ’ S L E GE N D
nfortunately it was just another girl.” These words lingered long after Cäcilie Bertha Ringer first read them at the age of ten. She was sitting in the good parlour of her parents’ house
in Pforzheim, Germany and had the family Bible open in front of her. Her parents recorded important events on the pages right at the back. This was where she found these hurtful words written by her mother on 3 May 1849, the day Bertha was born. Bertha was the third daughter of master joiner and building contractor Karl Friedrich Ringer and his wife Auguste Friederike. Bertha’s mother had already given birth to two daughters – Emilie Auguste Louise and Elise Mathilde – but as yet there was no son and heir. This put great pressure on her, particularly as her husband, at 47, was 22 years her senior. In the mid-19th century, not everybody reached this advanced age. Who would take over his construction business? Who would look after the family?
Even though this attitude was typical of those times, Bertha Benz’s friend Elisabeth Trippmacher later said that Bertha remem-bered these words all her life, “and whenever she thought about them, she did something to prove to her mother that even girls could do the unusual and achieve great things.” Ambitious, curious, with an alert mind and a great interest in technical innovations – this is how biographer Barbara Leisner describes the young Bertha Ringer.
Remarkably well-educatedIn 1858, Bertha’s father registered her at the higher school for girls, which her two older sisters were already attending. During her four years at this advanced school, Bertha eagerly absorbed all the knowledge that came her way. Although most of the timetable was taken up with “female occupations” (nine hours of sewing, knitting and crochet every week), during their last two years at the school, the girls not only learnt English, French, geometry and geography, but also devoted two hours a week to natural studies. During these lessons, the girls learned the properties of water, air, sound and heat, found out what magnetism is and discovered how electricity
works. Engineer Carl Benz met the 24-year-old Bertha on 27 June 1869; as he got to know her during an excursion organised by the social club ‘Eintracht’, he found her to be an attentive, remarkably well-educated conversationalist. “Bertha Ringer was the name of the vivacious child from Pforzheim who from then on joined the circle of my ideas and interests as a co-determiner and advisor,” wrote the 80-year-old Benz in his autobiography. She was to become “a second driving force, constantly giving new impetus to [his] crea-tive work and endeavours in the face of obstructive resistance.” Her tenacity and talent were to help him realise his vision: to create an engine-powered horseless carriage.
She had such faith in her fiancé’s idea that she supported him with all the means at her disposal, asking her parents to pay out her dowry of 4,244 guilders so she could give him financial backing. However, Carl Benz was soon to find himself in financial difficulties. Together with shareholder August Ritter, Benz had bought a plot of land and opened his mechanical workshop in the booming industrial town of Mannheim, where he intended to live with Bertha after their marriage. He was already working on his first orders.
The interest payable on the loan was high, and after a dispute with their partner, the young couple decided it would be best to buy out Ritter’s share as soon as possible. For this, Carl needed Bertha’s money. Despite her love for Carl, the bride remained prag-matic and insisted on a marital agreement ensuring that her dowry of more than 4,200 guilders would remain her own property. On 20 July 1872, Carl and Bertha Benz were married at the Schloss-kirche, a church in Pforzheim.
Without this money and the encouragement of his energetic wife, the young inventor may well have given up and sought employ-ment elsewhere, especially as Ritter was demanding more money. Moreover, Europe was in the throes of a stock market crisis, which in 1873 was also having an unsettling effect on the German econ-omy. Carl Benz had many ideas for constructing machinery for a wide range of industries, yet the orders failed to materialise.
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Bertha Benz in 1883 with her children Thilde, Clara, Eugen and Richard (L to R). The family finally has money to spare for such luxuries as a pram, which was rarely seen in Germany at that time.
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“WHENEVER SHE REMEMBERED THESE WORDS, SHE DID
SOMETHING TO PROVE TO HER MOTHER THAT EVEN GIRLS
COULD DO THE UNUSUAL AND ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS”
Elisabeth Trippmacher, friend of Bertha Benz
April 2019 59 Mercedes
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Five years later, in December 1888, the Illustrirte Zeitung, a well-known news-paper published in Leipzig, illustrated its report on Benz’s patent motor car with this drawing.
In July 1877, when Bertha was expecting their third child, the bail-iffs seized the workshop and Carl Benz had to go even deeper into debt to be able to work at all.
Nevertheless, Bertha Benz still believed in his idea for the automobile, an idea that had long since become their joint dream. “We talked about his plans all the time,” she remembered later. “That’s how I became so familiar with all the technology.” According to Leisner, her biographer, she was able to contribute to technical developments in machine construction, understand his plans and put forward her own ideas. He was the technical genius, she his sparring partner. She also provided practical support: together they wound wire induction coils for the ignition mechanism.
Staff called her the “foreman”Her dearest wish was to try out one of the newfangled velocipedes; Carl had already taken a “bone-shaker” for several spins in the region. However, while some women in Berlin, London and New York were already wearing bloomers so they could ride bicycles and enjoy a degree of freedom, custom in her home town “did not allow ladies to climb onto such things. It was seen to be unaesthetic and was […] frowned upon, Bertha Benz later said regretfully.
The staff were to call Bertha Benz “the foreman”, a title nor-mally reserved for factory managers. However, Carl Benz could not yet afford to employ staff. He first had to get the two-stroke engine he had spent years tinkering with to work. On New Year’s Eve 1879, it was ready. “We have to go to the workshop one more time and try our luck,” said Bertha Benz to her husband. Something had her in its grip. Later on, he was to tell the story as follows: “And once again we stood in front of the engine as if it were a great, barely solvable mystery. Our hearts beat fast. I switched on the ignition. The machine sputtered to life. The beats of this sound of the future followed each other in a beautiful, regular rhythm. Deeply moved, we listened to this monotonous song for more than an hour.”
However, they were not yet home and dry. The business world of Mannheim found the newfangled machine interesting, but nobody wanted to spend money on it; it was too expensive, too untried. Later, when disputes arose with two other business partners, Bertha stayed by her husband’s side. “Just one person remained with me in the small ship of life when it seemed destined to sink. That was my wife,” said Carl Benz. “She was undaunted by life’s storms. Valiant and courageous, she hoisted new sails of hope. If it hadn’t been for her, who knows what might have happened.”
In view of the many setbacks, Carl Benz must often have ques-tioned what he was doing. In contrast, Bertha Benz’s motto was: “Work and don’t despair.” And this paid off. On 29 January 1886, Carl Benz took out a patent for his motor car “powered by a gasoline engine”. In August 1888, Bertha Benz and her sons undertook the first long-distance journey in the serial version of the patented motor car to draw attention to it. Sales were slow during the first few years. One of the first people to express an interest was a woman, a teacher from Hungary. She travelled to Mannheim especially to see the car, and was fascinated. “Unfortunately”, wrote the engineer, “her finan-cial resources were not as great as her enthusiasm. However, enthu-siastic women always find a way. She was able to inspire one of her colleagues to sacrifice all his ready money for the car.” It is not known what Bertha Benz thought of this buyer. However, we can imagine how proud she was. She had played a significant role in enabling this teacher to show her pupils what women could achieve. They simply had to refuse to be persuaded otherwise.
The film: Bertha Benz: The Journey That Changed Everything can be seen here: mb4.me/BBenzThe books: Carl Benz, Lebensfahrt eines deutschen Erfinders (Life’s Journey of a German Inventor), Servus Verlag, 2013. Barbara Leisner, Bertha Benz – Eine starke Frau am Steuer des ersten Automobils (Bertha Benz – A Strong Woman at the Wheel of the First Automobile), Casimir Katz Verlag, 2014.
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“IF IT HADN’T BEEN FOR HER, WHO KNOWS WHAT
MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED”Carl Benz, husband of Bertha Benz
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Aichi Triennale in Japan1 August–14 October 2019This art festival, which takes place in Aichi Prefecture in Japan, has become known for the socially engaged work it presents, such as the installations of Candice Breitz, whose film scenes explore the theme of identity and star famous actors like Julianne Moore. aichitriennale.jp
Think- Woman Is Power in Mumbai27 September 2019India brings its female tech experts and entrepreneurs together. At this event, Mumbai’s smartest business women network and give up-and-comers tips on how to plan a successful career.thinkwomanispower.com
Mindful triathlon in Frankfurt7 September 2019Wanderlust is organising a tranquil triathlon in Frankfurt am Main. The mindful sporting event consists of a five-kilometre run (or walk) followed by flow yoga and medita tion, and is open to beginners as well as experienced yogis and master meditators. Local eateries will provide refreshments at Brentanobad, the outdoor pool. wanderlust.com
Women’s Trail in Austria17–19 May 2019 The Women’s Trail in Zell am See is the perfect sporting weekend for women. Against the stunning back-drop of the Alps, seasoned runners and newbies will create a fun and friendly atmosphere as they spur each other on to complete the trail. In the evening, participants can wind down with yoga. womens-trail.com
Big business in Basel4–6 July 2019This summer, more than 1,000 top executives from all over the world will come together in Switzerland to network and share ideas on impor- tant business and economic issues. Needless to say, the summit will also address leadership skills, empower- ment and the gender pay gap. globewomen.org/globalsummit
Festival de Hyères on the Côte d’Azur25–29 April 2019
This festival is a mecca for young creatives. Fashion designers, artists and photographers will present
their work alongside up-and-coming jewellery designers like Flora Fixy, Kate Fichard and Julia Dessirier
(image). The festival programmeincludes exhibitions, panels and competitions for the best designs and
fashion collections. This year, Mercedes-Benzwill be sponsoring the event for the first time.
villanoailles-hyeres.com
Women lawyers in San Francisco6–7 May 2019The Women in Law Summit will take place in one of the most beautiful cities in the US, and it is likely to be of enormous benefit to young lawyers. Women with a wealth of experience will gather here with the aim of increasing the percentage of women in American law firms to over 30%.www.women-in-law-west-coast.com
Football fever in France7 June–7 July 2019 This year, France will host the eighth FIFA Women’s World Cup. The 24 qualifying teams will battle for the title in nine cities. The tournament will kick off in Paris, with the semi-finals and final taking place in Lyon. Subsequent matches will be played in Grenoble, Le Havre, Montpellier, Nice, Rennes, Reims and Valenciennes. The USA will be defending the title.fifa.com/womensworldcup
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S H E ’ S AGE N DA
Dreams? Drive!Spring has finally arrived: just the time to start getting
out and about again for fun on the road and trips to beautiful destinations. The only real question left
to answer is: Will you be in a Coupé or a Cabriolet? On the following eight pages we present you with
four dream cars: the S-Class Coupé and the CLS, the E-Class Cabriolet and the final edition
of the SLC Roadster. Come on, jump in!
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A class act
T H E S - C L A S S COU PÉ
“The best car in the world” is a reputation that the S-Class isn’t shedding any time soon. The Coupé design is captivatingly austere. Its handling is athletic, elegant. Its technology is perfect down to the very last detail. And when it comes to safety? Its Driving Assistance packages are perfectly tailored to the car
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StrikingThe new rear lamps featuring innovative OLED technology ensure the car looks distinctive whether it’s night or day.
More details about your dream car can be found here:mb4.me/she_s-class
First-classA multifunctional steering wheel with touch-control buttons, multicontour seats with up to eight massage programmes for the driver and front passenger, and 10 exclusive ambient lighting options
StatementThe S-Class Coupé isn’t just any car: it is a source of sheer joy and deep passion. A true style icon
DynamicThe front section features a dazzling three-dimensional diamond grille, flanked by the LED Intelligent Light System, which further highlights the sporty superiority of the Coupé.
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T H E C L S COU PÉ
Strong emotionsA sporty body, flawless workmanship, beguiling charisma – a designer item on four wheels. The CLS, the four-door Coupé now in its third generation, comes with a new six-cylinder engine and striking aesthetic. The chance to get behind the wheel feels like a stroke of extraordinary luck
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Up close and personalWith its sloping front section, its flat multi-beam LED headlamps featuring Ultra Range Highbeam, and its sporty grille, the CLS is a truly striking sight.
Effortless powerWith its high beltline, low side windows and wide shoulders, this four-door Coupé exudes self-confidence.
More details about your dream car can be found here:mb4.me/she_cls-coupe
Lounge ambienceIt features a high-resolution widescreen cockpit with two 12.3-inch displays, illuminated air vents, energising comfort control technology, and 64-colour ambient lighting.
SophisticatedThe CLS efficiently transfers its power to the road, supported by cutting-edge driver assistance systems with route-basedspeed adaptation.
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T H E E - C L A S S CA BR IOL E T
Pure freedomThe athletic and intelligent E-Class Cabriolet is up for (almost) any kind of adventure. It has an exterior look that is distinctive for its sensual clarity, an air of elegant refinement, and its interior embraces passengers (up to three) much like a Gran Turismo does
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PowerfulThe E-Class Cabriolet makes an impression with its organic forms and muscular planes.It uses Airscarf technology to keep your neck warm, and Aircap reduces wind noise.
TraditionalThe tightly stretched fabric hood with integrated glass pane merges seamlessly with the muscular rear section. The roof can be opened while driving up to 50 km/h.
AiryOf course, the Cabriolet is at its most enjoyable when driving with the top down and fully retractable side windows open.
More details about your dream car can be found here:mb4.me/she_e-class
AdvancedThe upper section of the instrument panel appears to hover in the air. When the top is open, the harmony between the exterior and interior design is clear to see.
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T H E S L C ROA DS T E R
The grand finaleThe cult Roadster, the only car in its segment to feature a folding roof, is currently extremely popular with women drivers. Now on the market is the final edition of the SLC Roadster, which is also being made available again in the bright, cheerful, and seasonally appropriate colour sun yellow
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A good gripThe automatic gear selectors are upholstered in carbon leather and have SLC lettering in silver.
DazzlingThe exclusive Final Edition plaque is positioned on the front wings below the chromed fin.
More details about your dream car can be found here:mb4.me/slc-roadster_ final_edition
The interiorTwo-tone Nappa leather in black and silver pearl, with alpaca-grey topstitching. Wow! Sports seats and the multifunctional sports steering wheel come as standard, of course.
ColourfulAs a tribute to its past, and befitting the time of year, the final edition of the SLC Roadster is available in iconic sun yellow.
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LONDON — ENGLAND
Elegant: Keira Knightley receives Harper’s Bazaar award
Around 60 women influencers accepted an invitation from the She’s Mercedes Initiative to meet in the Southpark restaurant in Helsinki. The event gave the influencers an opportunity to get to know each other and share digital strategies. The racing driver Susie Wolff (left) moderated the event alongside the Finnish TV presenter Mervi Kallio.
HELSINKI — FINLAND
Digital: influencers chat way up north
As part of The Holistic Lifestyle Experience event series, successful women came together on 17 January 2019 to get tips on staying healthy at work. The yoga teacher Olive Ssembuze demonstrated everyday breathing techniques, while the nutritionist Sandra Mikhail shared dietary advice on reducing stress at work.
ZURICH — SWITZERLAND
Relaxed: how to manage stress at work
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Welcome to the world of She’s Mercedes
Are you looking for inspiration, a chance to share ideas or an opportunity to learn? Follow us in the She’s Mercedes Lounge online community or on our social media channels.
mb4.me/ShesMercedes_instagram.com/shesmercedesfacebook.com/shesmercedesYouTube: mb4.me/MyChosenFamily_LinkedIn: mb4.me/shesmercedesLI
Keira Knightley received the Woman of the Year Award in October 2018 for her gritty yet charismatic portrayal of the French writer Colette. The fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar, supported by the She’s Mercedes Initiative, presented the award during a ceremony attended by star guests from the film, art and design industries.
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Featuring naive heart, star, flower and candy motifs, the 58-year-old designer Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada’s collections are probably the quirkiest in Europe. She and her daughter, Cósima Ramírez, were among the stars at this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, and took part in a question-and-answer session with an audience of fashion mavens. The
cultural roots of the duo’s designs were particularly fascinating. “The Spanish mentality tends to be reserved, strict and solemn,” de la Prada said, explaining that this sombreness was what prompted her from an early age to explore expressive colours and unusual tailoring. She has stayed true to this principle to this day. “Plus we simply don’t like black,” added
Ramírez, who has been involved in recent collections. During the major fashion show, which took place in Madrid from 24 to 26 January, pioneering fashion designers showcased their hottest creations. Regarded as a platform for rising young stars, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week takes place in the Spanish capital twice a year. The next one is scheduled for July.
MADRID — SPAIN — MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK
Bright: Spain’s most vibrant and successful designer duo in She’s Mercedes Fashion Talks
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didn’t have the glow I have today when I was in my early and mid-twenties. I was young, fit and attrac-tive – but I lacked the confidence I have now. With
the passing of time, I’ve discovered something within me that I wasn’t aware of before: an interest in new things and the knowledge that I can trust in the future. I think that’s come with life experience and time.
I was a dancer for most of my life, and I used to be fully focused on my performance. It was always impor-tant to me to be better than others. I had this inner voice that told me: “Be ambitious or you’ll be kicked out!” My job and my lifestyle have always demanded physical fit-ness, so initially my own ageing process wasn’t very noticeable. Staying fit can slow down time a little, of course. But thankfully my self-worth was never bound up with certain beauty standards, and I’ve never been fixated on them.
I’ve always preferred a natural approach, and that has opened a lot of doors for me. I’ve never tried to be someone else; I’ve remained authentic. That’s the main advice I’d give younger women today. I’m often asked what helped me find my way in life. I’m afraid I don’t have a recipe. But there’s one thing I know: you need someone who believes in you. That’s something you can build on. But you also need to have enough belief in yourself and others to embark on this process. So self-belief plays an important role in life. You’ve got to develop the confidence to be true to yourself and not follow other people’s beauty standards. It’s the same with ageing. We’ve got to stop believing that we’re not young enough to be liked. That’s never happened to me, and it doesn’t need to happen to others. No one can hold back time, but we can steer our ageing processes a little. I’d advise every woman to choose the natural path – please don’t opt for surgery! You’ve got to find your own inner beauty and believe in yourself.
In her autobiography, Ich steig aus und mach ’ne eigene Show (I’m Quitting to Run My Own Show), Eden Books, Eveline Hall shows that a straight path through life has become a rarity these days. To stay young, you have to keep picking yourself up and starting again. For more information, go to evelinehall.com
“We’ve got to stop believing that we’re not young enough to be liked”
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Eveline Hall, 73, was once a ballerina and a Las Vegas showgirl. Today she’s one of the world’s most sought-after models, proving that true beauty is ageless
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Mercedes-Benz Circle of ExcellenceThe “Mercedes-Benz Circle of Excellence” offers its members their very own personal access to the world of Mercedes-Benz.Exclusive insights grant a special proximity to the inner life of our brand Mercedes-Benz.
Find out more about the CIRCLE:
www.circle.mercedes-benz.com
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